Complete Game Notes
Game #22: Lincoln (3-18, 0-12 MIAA) at Northwest Missouri (10-11, 5-7 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020
Time: 1:30 p.m. CST
Site: Bearcat Arena (2,500) in Maryville, Mo.
Tickets: Available at Site
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/
Live Stats: https://bearcatsports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/

THE TIP OFF:  Another rematch awaits the Blue Tigers on Saturday (Feb. 8) as the Lincoln women's basketball team visits Maryville, Mo. to play Northwest Missouri. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. CST for part two of the season series, as the Bearcats took the first game, 56-32, in Jason Gym back on Dec. 5. It is the second-straight rematch for LU, which fell to Missouri Western, 72-53, in St. Joseph on Wednesday (Feb. 5) in the second contest of the year between the two programs. Northwest Missouri is also playing its second rematch of the 2019-20 campaign as Central Missouri completed a sweep over the Bearcats on Thursday (Feb. 6) with a 73-60 victory in Bearcat Arena. The Blue Tigers are seeking their first MIAA win of the season while the Bearcats are 5-7 in league play.

FAST BREAKS
- Saturday will mark the 48th meeting between the Blue Tigers and the Bearcats, with NWMSU owning a 37-10 advantage in the series.

- Lincoln swept Northwest Missouri in 2018-19 with a 69-66 win in Maryville followed by a 64-51 victory in Jason Gym.

- The Bearcats last home win over the Blue Tigers came in 2017-18 as NWMSU edged LU, 61-60.

- A win would be the first for the Blue Tigers away from home in 2019-20.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  With 11.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per night, Vivian Chigbu is averaging close to a double-double and leads LU on the glass. Kaloni Pryear is scoring a team-high 16.6 points per game, and Kyessence Collins leads Lincoln with 2.9 assists per contest and averages 6.9 points. Alecia Gulledge, meanwhile, has been an all-around asset to the Blue Tigers with 6.1 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 32 steals and 10 blocks.

HEAD COACH AYANA McWILLIAMS:  A five-year veteran of the Division I ranks, McWilliams is in her fourth year as the head coach at Lincoln. Last season, McWilliams led the Blue Tigers to a 7-0 start, the best in program history. McWilliams previously worked as an assistant at South Carolina Upstate, a Division I program, and also was an assistant at Elizabeth City.

LAST TIME OUT:  Missouri Western out-scored LU, 26-9, in the opening quarter, and held off the Blue Tigers for a 72-53 win on Wednesday (Feb. 5). Kaloni Pryear topped the 20-point plateau with a team-high 22 points, and Virja Lewis added 13 points and six rebounds. Lincoln shot .418 from the field and .857 at the line.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:  A pair of NWMSU players average at least 10 points per night, led by Kendey Eaton with 13.4 per contest. The other double digit scorer is Mallory McConkey (11.6 ppg.), while Erika Schlosser averages a team-high 3.5 assists and Mia Stillman is the top rebounder (4.3 rpg.). Jaelyn Haggard averages just under 10 points per game with a 9.9 scoring average.

NWMSU HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER:  A four-year letterwinner on the Northwest Missouri men's basketball team from 2002-06, Meyer is in his second season leading the Bearcat women and enters the week with a career record of 11-22. From 2008-18, Meyer served as an assistant coach on the NWMSU men's basketball staff and helped lead the Bearcats to the NCAA Division II national championship in 2017.

DOUBLE THE FUN:  Vivian Chigbu has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in six games in 2019-20 and averages 11.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Chigbu, who twice has eclipsed 20 points in a game, is tied with Fort Hays State's Belle Barbieri for the second-most double-doubles in the MIAA behind only Nija Collier of Central Missouri, who has nine.

...AND ONE:  Virja Lewis also has recorded a double-double this season, as she grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 24 points against Rogers State. Lewis, who also had a 10-rebound night vs. Washburn, had 10 points and eight boards against Central Missouri.

ON THE REBOUND:  The Blue Tigers have established themselves as one of the MIAA's best rebounding teams, as Lincoln is third in the league in total rebounds per game (39.5) and leads the conference in offensive boards (15.4). Nationally, LU is 25th in DII in offensive boards.

KY'S THE KEY:  Kyessence Collins has given LU an immediate impact since joining the lineup on Dec. 14, including dishing 23 assists for a 2.9 apg. average that leads the team. Collins had nine points, five assists and five rebounds in her debut performance against Hannibal-LaGrange, and is averaging 6.9 points & 3.0 boards for the season.

A GLOBAL TEAM:  The 2019-20 Blue Tigers are representing six countries: Australia (Natasha Elliott and assistant coach Graham McFall); Spain (Anna Munoz Vidueira); Nigeria (Vivian Chigbu); Uruguay (Natasha Dolinsky); Bosnia & Herzegovina (Vedrana Radosavljevic); and, of course, the United States of America.

GOOD ON THE GLASS:  Vivian Chigbu reached double figures in rebounding in each of the first four games and currently is sixth in the MIAA while rating 114th in the nation in rebounds per game with 8.1. Her total of 170 rebounds is the fifth-most in the MIAA.

PRYEAR SUCCESS:  Kaloni Pryear, who started 14 games and made 19 total appearances a year ago, is Lincoln's scoring leader in 2019-20. Pryear opened the year with 18 points against Southern Arkansas and has reached double digits 17 times this year. That includes five 20-point performances, highlighted by scoring a career-high 26 vs. Maryville.

TO THE TENS:  Kaloni Pryear is having an outstanding season offensively, averaging 16.6 points per game to lead LU and rank fourth in the MIAA. In 19 of the 20 games she's played, Pryear has scored at least 10 points, and she has reached the 20-point plateau five times. Pryear has made 129 field goals, the fourth-most in the MIAA, while her .457 field goal percentage is eighth in the league.

STEAL-GULL:  Alecia Gulledge leads Lincoln with 32 steals, with her 1.7 takeaways per game ranking 11th in the MIAA. Gulledge, who joins Natasha Dolinsky and Vivian Chigbu in the top-20 of the MIAA rankings for steals per game, has helped Lincoln post the league's fifth-best team average of 8.9 takeaways per contest.

BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS:  Whether she's on offense or defense, very few players rebound as well as Vivian Chigbu. Her 3.6 offensive rebounds per game are second in the MIAA and 30th nationally while her 4.5 defensive boards per game are 12th in the conference.

THE ROTATION KEEPS SPINNING:  Lincoln has changed up its lineup in nearly every game, using 15 different starting fives in 21 games in 2019-20. Ten Blue Tigers have made at least three starts, with only Vivian Chigbu having made as many as 19.

DOLING SOME HELP:  Natasha Dolinsky leads the Blue Tigers with 46 total assists for 2.2 per game. She also has 31 steals, tied for the 19th-most in the MIAA, and four blocks on the year, and Dolinsky is scoring 6.5 points per night while averaging 3.0 rebounds.

GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  Get your Blue Tiger jerseys, apparel, accessories, office supplies and much, much more at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store of LU athletics. You can get everything you will need for basketball season, with a portion of all sales going directly to support all 12 LU athletic programs.

NEXT UP:  Lincoln begins its final homestand on Thursday (Feb. 13), hosting Nebraska Kearney at 5:30 p.m. CST.